Copyright: Its History and Its LawBowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
History
Copyright: Its History and Its Law
Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
Copyright -- History; Copyright -- United States -- History
Under the law of 1874, the prescribed notice was in the old form (Rev.
Stat. 4962), "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year ----, by
A. B., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington," with
the optional alternative of the form "Copyright, 18--, by A. B." Under
the new code the latter form is preserved, with the alternative of the
provision "Copr.," with date and name, but the longer form may be used
on books copyrighted under the earlier acts, even if reprinted after the
passage of the later act. Except for books previously copyrighted, the
longer form is not now the legal notice, and its use would be dangerous,
as it does not contain the specific word copyright, or its abbreviation,
now made an obligatory part of the notice. While in Osgood v. Aloe in
1897, the omission of the name from the notice, though on the
title-page, and in Record & Guide Co. _v._ Bromley in 1910, the omission
of the date, though indicated by the date of the periodical in the line
below, were held to void the copyright, such addition as the words
"published by" has been held, as in Hills v. Hoover in 1905, a mere
superfluity not voiding copyright.
{Sidenote: Exact phraseology required}
The exact phraseology and order of words must be followed, and it has
been held that any inaccuracy in the name of the copyright proprietor,
as in the English case of Low _v._ Routledge, by Vice-Chancellor
Kindersley, in 1864, or in the date of the entry, as in the American
case of Baker _v._ Taylor in 1848, when 1847 was put for 1846, makes the
copyright invalid.
{Sidenote: Name}
The name in the copyright notice (C. O. Rule 24) must be the real name
of a living person or of a firm or corporate body or the trade name in
actual use, and may not be a pseudonym or pen-name or other
make-believe. A copyright notice should not be in the name of one person
for the benefit of another; the beneficiary's name should be the one
printed. A publisher may take out a copyright for an author, however, in
which case the publisher's name and not the author's name will be given,
unless the publisher makes application as the agent of the
author-claimant. The name in the copyright notice must correspond fully
with the real name as given in the application, but an objection that N.
Sarony instead of Napoleon Sarony was not the real name, was quashed in
1884, in Burrow-Giles Lith. Co. _v._ Sarony, by the U. S. Supreme Court.
{Sidenote: Date}
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account